1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protective cover for a golf club adapted to protect the head and shaft of the club.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a golf bag is 21 is partitioned by internal walls 22 to receive a plurality of golf clubs therein. The golf bag 21 also has a slope at the bottom thereof so that the user can easily and conveniently extract any of golf clubs 1 from the golf bag 21 for use.
Golf clubs 1 are received in the golf bag 21 while being arranged together in parallel in such a manner that those having a shorter length are received in the front portion of the golf bag 21 whereas those having a longer length are received in the rear portion of the golf bag 21. Accordingly, the golf clubs 1 can be easily selected for use. However, when the user carries the golf bag 21, golf clubs 1 received therein will move and jostle, so that they come into contact with one another.
This is the head 2 of a shorter one of the adjacent golf clubs 1 can come into contact with the shaft 3 of the longer golf club, thereby causing the shaft 3 of the longer golf club to be scratched. The paint layer on the surface of the shaft 3 may even be peeled off. This degrades the appearance of the golf club.
In order to solve this problem, a head cover 20 as illustrated in FIG. 2 has been proposed. As shown in FIG. 2, such a head cover has a head cover portion 4 adapted to enclose the head 2 of a golf club 1, and a shaft cover portion 5 adapted to enclose the lower portion of the shaft 3 of the golf club 1 adjacent to the head 2.
This head cover 20 is put onto the golf club 1 before the golf club 1 is placed into the golf bag 21. This is done by inserting the head 2 of the golf club 1 into an opening defined at the lower end of the shaft cover portion 5 while the golf club 1 is held in an inverted state, until the head 2 is enclosed by the head cover portion 4 while the shaft 3 is enclosed by the shaft cover portion 5. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the shaft 3 of the longer golf club 1 from being damaged due to movement occurring while carrying the golf bag, because the head cover encloses the head 2 and shaft 3. However, the opening of the head cover portion 5 has a small dimension, taking into consideration the narrow diameter (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch) of the shaft 3 of the golf club 1. Due to such a small dimension of the opening, considerable effort is required for putting the head cover onto the golf club 1 and for taking it off. In other words, it is impossible to rapidly put the head cover onto the golf club 1 because the user must insert the head 2 of the golf club 1 into the opening of the head cover while widening the opening by hand. For taking off the head cover, a strong force is again required to extract the head of the golf club through the narrow opening of the head cover.
Furthermore, when the golf club 1, with the head cover 20, is placed into the golf bag 21, the head cover portion 5 of the head cover may come into contact, at the lower end thereof, with the heads of other golf clubs already received in the golf bag 21, the head covers of the latter golf clubs, or the upper ends of partitions 22 provided in the golf bag 21. As a result, the head cover portion 5 of the head cover may shift upwardly. Then the shaft 3 of the golf club 1 is exposed, and it may then come into direct contact with other golf clubs. For this reason, this device still permits a degradation in the appearance of the golf club shafts.
FIG. 3 illustrates another conventional head cover. This head cover has a cover body 11 adapted to enclose both the head 2 and the lower portion of the shaft 3 of a golf club 1. The cover body 11 is longitudinally slitted to allow easy insertion of the head 2 and shaft 3 of the golf club 1 into the head cover. The head cover also has a slide fastener 12 attached to the slitted portion of the cover body 11. In the case of this head cover, the slide fastener 12 attached to the cover body 11 is open for putting the head cover onto the golf club 1. Thereafter, the head 2 of the golf club 1 is inserted into the head cover through the widened opening of the head cover. After the insertion, the slide fastener 12 is closed. Thus, the head cover is put on the golf club 1, so that it protects the head 2 and the lower portion of the shaft 3. However, this head cover still has an inconvenience in that the slide fastener 12 should be manipulated to be opened and closed every time the head cover is put onto the golf club or taken off from the golf club.
Typically, the head cover is made of a thick fabric in order to provide a buffering function. For this reason, the head cover is bulky, so that it unnecessarily occupies a large space. This results in a bulky structure of the golf bag 21 itself. On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,193 discloses a "golf club cover." Similarly to the head cover of FIG. 1, this golf club cover disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,193 has a head cover portion adapted to enclose the head of a golf club, and a shaft cover portion extending downwardly from the head cover portion and serving to enclose the lower portion of the shaft of the golf club. This golf club cover has a different configuration from the head cover of FIG. 1, only in that it has a longitudinal slot formed in the shaft cover portion, in order to conveniently insert the head and shaft of the golf club into the protective cover. However, this golf club cover still has an inconvenience in that the insertion of the head and shaft of the golf club into the protective cover is carried out under the condition in which the slot must be widened manually.